While at work the other day I was looking at a list of work responsibilities and duties for all employees and noticed a name that I'd not seen before. The first name was Erin and the last name doesn't really matter so I will not post it. However, upon seeing the name Erin I thought to myself, "Who is this woman and why have I not seen her yet?" New employees are always coming and going and there always seems to be some new faces to learn and some new names to know.
So on a break that day, as I was sitting with a bunch of guys, some new but most of whom I've been working with for a while, I asked out loud,"Do any of you know who this new girl Erin X is?" And then, from the end of the table, I heard a deep male voice say, "That's me." It's a good thing that the Kinks song LOLA wasn't playing at the moment as it would've really freaked me out. But I looked at the guy and laughed as I thought that he was joking. He wasn't.
I said, "Really? Your name is Erin, spelled that way instead of A-A-R-O-N?" And he said, "Yeah. My mom really wanted a daughter and named me Erin even though she got a boy." Several things raced through my mind as he offered this up. The first was that I was amazed that he would tell us all that. The second was what kind of sick mom names a boy Erin just because she wanted a girl and instead got a boy? And thirdly, at what point in your life, if you are a man named Erin, do you go and legally have your name changed to AARON or whatever else you want it to be instead of Erin? And why hadn't this guy already done that? He seems to be in his late 30s/early 40s, so he's had a boatload of time to mull this over. And unlike the song A BOY NAMED SUE the name doesn't seem to have made this guy tougher because of all of the crap he would catch from it during his life.
I've met men with names that work for women as well regardless of the spelling. I've known Robins and Adrians(yes I know a few women who spell it this way instead of Adrienne)and Kellys and obvious ones like Bobby, Joey, Ronnie and others. But had never met someone with a name that, sounds the same, but could be spelled two different ways with one being masculine and the other feminine. So meeting this guy has shown me something different in life.
Regardless of how his name is spelled, he's a decent guy and a hard worker with a good sense of humor. Other than that I don't know too much about him, but I will say this about him, he certainly has given me a lot to think about.
And I keep thinking.
